Sunflowers for Vincent to arrive

I am pleased to announce that the public arts initiative of the University of Massachusetts Boston, Arts on the Point, will add another major sculpture by the internationally acclaimed artist Mark di Suvero titled Sunflowers for Vincent. This brightly painted steel and aluminum interactive sculpture is di Suvero’s homage to one of his favorite artists, Vincent van Gogh, whose paintings of sunflowers are some of the Dutchman’s most famous. 

The sculpture will arrive on campus on Thursday morning and be placed between University Drive and the Harborwalk near the bend at the campus’s entrance from Morrissey Boulevard. I ask that you bear with us as workers install the sculpture, beginning at 8 a.m. and requiring the closure of one lane of University Drive.

Sunflowers for Vincent will join another monumental work by di Suvero, titled Huru, which stands at the front of the Integrated Sciences Complex, making Columbia Point the only location in New England where the public can see two examples of this renowned artist’s achievements. Sunflowers comes to UMass Boston from the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, where it had been exhibited for many years.

To help celebrate the arrival of this sculpture we will host a reception at the site on Monday, December 19, at 2 p.m. I encourage you to join us and Professor of Art Paul Tucker, who organized the acquisition of the sculpture, at this event.

Finally, on behalf of the campus community, I thank Professor Tucker for his passionate work in helping to make Arts on the Point a destination for art lovers. If you’re unfamiliar with Arts on the Point, I encourage you to visit its new, interactive website or watch a WCVB “Chronicle” video about the Harborwalk and Arts on the Point.